A Response to Protests and a Prayer For Our Country

I have really struggled with what to say and think and feel since January 29 when some truckers and sympathetic friends converged in Ottawa to let our government know that they represented many who wanted mandates to end. I have made no secret of the fact that I believe a person should have the freedom to choose their medical treatments, and preventative therapies, without fear of losing their livelihood, and as such, I was happy to see a group of people coming together to make known that there were many people who felt this way.

But so many things have happened since January 27, the day I stood on a bridge and waved at the men and women driving those trucks and cars. Many things have happened that have been lawful and peaceful. Many things have happened that are unlawful and hateful. Many people, who simply want to know that the most powerful people in Canada have heard their voices, have been left standing in the cold, their calls unheeded. Many people took matters into their own hands and decided to make life harder for the rest of the city, province, and/or country. Many media reports have grossly misrepresented people on all sides of what is happening around our country.

I have watched on and off with a mixture of hope, concern, and trepidation, but I’ve tried to maintain an attitude of prayerful trust in God who is over it all, because regardless of the laws and freedoms in my country, I can still serve God with everything I have.

And while I see reports of people losing access to the money in their bank accounts, I know that everything I have comes from God, belongs to God, and is used for His glory. So I’m not worrying about whether the government’s newly approved and extended Emergencies Act powers will one day lead to problems with buying or selling or paying bills, because my allegiance lies with the Creator of the universe and He will certainly meet all my needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Rather, I continue to store up treasures in heaven by loving on those around me, sharing with those in need. Whether a person agrees with me or not on any matters of the day, we all bear the image of God and should be treated with love and kindness.

Some of you have felt a personal conviction to silently submit to the letter of the law and others have felt a personal conviction to peacefully protest a law that you see as unjust... Wherever you find yourselves, I want you to join me here, trusting all of this to God in prayer: 

 Let us pray that we would be people mindful of God’s favour and glad to do His will. That God would bless our land with honourable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. That He would save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. That God would defend our liberties, and fashion into one people, united under God, the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Let us pray that God would endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in His Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to His law, we may show forth His praise among the nations of the earth. Let us pray that in the time of prosperity, God would fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, He would suffer not our trust in Him to fail. And let us pray all of this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen (Prayer adapted from the Book of Common Prayer – A Prayer for Our Country)